Restaurants & Bars
New Brewery Serves Up Ale In Summit
Bull N Bear Brewery opened two weeks ago and says it will be open on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.
SUMMIT, NJ — Around the state, beer lovers are sharing their passion for brewing by opening microbreweries. The latest entry is Bull N Bear Brewery, which opened in downtown Summit on Dec. 4.
"Mayor Nora Radest welcomes Bull n Bear Brewery to Summit on Friday afternoon," the city announced that day. "Pictured here with Mike [Formisano] the brewer and Will [Dodge] the owner, located at 425 Springfield Ave."
The new brewery can serve either indoors or in their outdoor beer garden.
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The brewery has already earned raves from posters on the Beer Advocate website, who visited on opening weekend.
"Went to Bull N Bear yesterday afternoon and left very impressed," someone wrote. "The place is small and spartan inside and there is a small outdoor area in the rear. Right now there are only 4 beers but more are on the way. The 4 beers are all at least very close to excellent."
Find out what's happening in Summitfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
There are indeed more beers on the way besides three ales and an IPA. "Raspberry hard seltzer almost ready," the brewers announced a little over a week ago. "I’m thinking Tuesday. Thoughts on name?"
Customers on Facebook suggested names from "Pink Smile" to "Rasp Bear-ry."
The business germinated after owner William Dodge decided to move his home brewing interest to the next level, according to a recent story in NorthJersey.com. Dodge worked in finance, hence the name.
The Beer Advocate poster noted that there are other breweries and a brewpub nearby, including in Chatham, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights. And the owners of the new Lion's Roar Brewing in Westfield have been hiring and expect to open next month. "We CANNOT WAIT to get these damn doors open for you in January!" reads their most recent Instagram post last week.
Do you have news of a local business opening, closing, or celebrating a significant anniversary? Email caren.lissner@patch.com.
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